kitson



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

B. KITSON, Deod.

S. KITSON, Executrix. MACHINE FOR OPENING GOTTON.

ted July 2, 1889.

MW an m Wihxemaaa u PETERS mun wn Wnhmjton, a Q

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

R. KITSON, Deod.

S. KITSON, Executrix. MACHINE FOR OPENING COTTON.

No. 406,050. Patented July 2, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

RICHARD KITSON, ()b LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE KITSONMACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR OPENING COTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 406,050, dated July 2,1889.

Application filed September 11, 1883. Serial No. 106,214. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.- through the bottom (I, and insure theirfinal Be it known that I, RICHARD KITsoN, of separation from the fiber.Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State Below the chambers formedbetween the of Massachusetts, have invented anew and partitions d, Iconstruct my apparatus for 55 useful Improvement in Machines forOpencarrying away the dirt which falls into them, ing Cotton, of whichthe following is a specias follows: The vertical longitudinal sides offication. the trunk, which sustain the partitions d at My improvementrelates to that class of each end, are carried downward below theirmechanisms for opening and cleaning cotton lower edges, and the bottom Eis secured to 60 known as cotton-trunks, and it consists in them so asto form a longitudinal passage,

providing said cotton-trunks with a mechaninto which the bottoms of thechambers beism for automatically conveying away the tween the partitions(7" open, and which exdirt and leaf from the dirt-chambers, where tendsbeyond said chambers and terminates it is deposited by the action of thetrunk in in a dust-chamber F, extending downward, as 65 I 5 cleaning thecotton, substantially as hereinshown. At the ends of bottom E, which isafter described and claimed. flat upon its upper internal surface, areI11 the drawings, Figure 1 shows a sectional mounted rollers c 6,extending across the view of a cotton-opener and part of its trunk same,around which are passed endless cords with the present improvementsapplied to the c, as shown, to which are attached a series of 70 trunkand with part of the picker broken scrapers c c at suitable intervals.These away. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. scrapers are formedof slats of wood or B is an ordinary cotton-opener beater. b 7) othermaterial of the proper shape and are feed-rolls, and c is a portion of afeedinglength to fit closely at their bottom edges apron, the same beingshown in dotted lines. and ends to the bottom E and sides of the 75 C isa fan for producing a current of air, trunk, and prevent the passage ofthe dirt which takes the comminuted cotton from the or air beneath themas they are drawn along beater after the latter and the feed-rolls haveby the cords c, which is accomplished by picked the same, and carries itthrough the one of the rollers 6 being revolved in the trunk D,intermingled with the air-current, proper direction by the pulley eattached to 80 0 to remove the dirt, leaf, &c. All these parts, itsprolonged axis 011 the outside of the trunk, except the attachments ofthe trunk, hereinand a belt e", as hereinafter described. The afterdescribed, are constructed and comscrapers e c, when thus drawn alongovel bined together in the ordinary way, and opthe bottom E, continuallycarry the dirt and erated in the usual and well-known manner, impuritieswhich have fallen upon the bot- 8 5 so that further description of themis unnectom ahead of them and drop or deposit it in essary. the chamber1*. A roller e is placed over the After the current of air andcommingled driven roller c to allow the dirt to escape uncotton fiberhasentered the trunk and reached der it, while preventing the escape of airpast its horizontal part, it passes over the wire it to agreat extent.This is accomplished by 0 screen or slat bottom (I of this part of it,and mounting the ends of the axis of roller c the dirt, leaf, andimpurities, which are heavwhich project beyond it, in vertical slots 0'in ier than the floating fiber, drop downward the side walls of thetrunk, of such a breadth and separatefrom the latter, droppingthrough asto allow the axis to move up and down in the screen or slat bottom,while the fiber is them without horizontal. play. The roller 0 5 5carried onward. Below the screen-bottom (I can therefore rise when thescrapers c c or are placed the vertical transverse partitionsd masses ofdirt pass beneath it, and drop back (1, forming chambers in connectionwith the again after they have passed,thus preventing sides of the trunkand screen-bottom for the the escape of air beneath itor past its endsin reception of the falling dirt and impurities. a great measure. I00These chambers prevent the latter from be- A box or receptacle G may beplaced in the ing sucked or drawn back and upward again chamber F toreceive the dirtand impurities the end of theprolonged beater-shaft.

deposited in it, if desired; or the dirt may be removed by other meansif the box G1 is omitted. For this purpose a door I) is made in the sideof the chamber, Fig. 2, which is suspended upon hinges 19 Z2 at itsupper end.

The various revolving parts of the mechanism described maybe driven fromcountershafts or pulleys in various ways; but I have shown in Fig. 2 amethod by which they may be driven. A belt a drives pulley a upon Frompulley a on the same shaft a belt drives pulley at on the shaft of theupper feed-roll I). From pulley a on the beater-shaft a belt drivespulley a on the shaft of fan (1' From pulley a upon the latter shaft abelt drives pulley a? upon the endof the shaftof a roller of feed-apronc. From pulley a upon the latter shaft, the belt 6" drives pulley e ofroller e, before described.

The advantage of providing a longitudinal passage in connection with thechambers between the partitions d (1', extending to a space or chamberbeyond them, togetherwith suitable mechanism for removing the dust andimpurities therefrom which are deposited therein from said chambers, isthat said chambers and passage may be cleaned 'out when the cottonopener and trunk are in operatlon without aifecting the same. Thisobviates the expense of stopping the entire machine to clean out thecompartments of the trunk under screen-bottom d during workinghours inthe mill, or of doing it in extra time of the workmen afterward, andcauses the cotton-trunk to be kept at the highest state of efficiency byhaving its compartments beneath screen-bottom d kept constantly in acomparatively clean state.

If it is desired to operate the scrapers e e intermittently, the belt 6may be thrown on and off pulley a as required.

The combination of the longitudinal passage connecting with the chambersbetween the partitions. d d and opening into the dust space or chamberF, the fibei passage and screen-bottom d of the trunk being locatedabove said partitions, are the features of the construction which renderthe employment of a unitary means or mechanism feasible-such as theconnected scrapers eto keep the chambers between those partitions cleanwhile the trunk is in operation, because it would not be practicallypossible without these featn res to employ a simple and convenientmechanism in-the cleaning, which must necessarily operate upon thecontents of each of the chambers between the partitions (Z (Z'separately from that of the others.

The dust-chamberF performs the function, in connect-ion with thedust-passage, which conveys the dust and impurities fronibeneath thescreen-bottom (I, of keeping the dust and impurities discharged from thechambers or spaces between the partitions d d confined, and preventingtheir lodging upon-the cotton 1 which is being fed to the beater B overapron 0 and from being sucked into the space around the beater throughthe openings by which it is surrounded and ii'ltermingling with freshmasses of cotton as they are fed through the opener to the trunk. Thisfunction of the dust passage and chamber F is performed by them bothwhile said scrapers are in operation and thrown out of operation, asdescribed, as they prevent currents of air taking up thedust as it fallsfrom the chambers between partitions d d and carrying it to the beater.v 1

. As the scrapers e e consist of transverse slats inclosing spacesbetween them open at the top and lying closely upon the bottom E, theythus of themselves form shallow chambers or boxes, which prevent thedust and impurities from being drawn out of them by eddies orcounter-currei'lts of air after being deposited therein and untildischarged by the progressive movement of the scrapers into the dust-chamber F.

' What I claim as new and of my invention 1. The combination of thebeater B, the

.trunk 1), containing the horizontal air and fiber passage, thescreen-bottom d beneath the same, and the transverse partitions'clcl,which form with the trunk and screen bottom d chambers beneath thelatter, the dust-passage running longitudinally along said trunk beneathsaid screen-bottom, connected to said chambers and adapted to receivethe dust and impurities discharged therefrom and conduct the same to thedustchamber F, and the latter adapted to receive the dust andimpuri tiesdischarged into it from said dust-passage and prevent them from reachingfresh fiber while being fed past the beater, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the feed-apron c, feed-rolls b b, the beater B,the trunk D, containing the horizontal air and fiber passage,screen-bottom cl beneath the same, and transverse partitions cl cl,which form with the trunk and screen-bottom'd chambers beneath thelatter, and the dust-passage running longitudinally along said trunkbeneath said screen-bottom and connected to said chambers and adapted toreceive the dust and impurities discharged therefrom and to conduct thesame to the dust-chamber F, and the latter adapted to receive the dustand impurities discharged into it from said dust-passage and preventthem from reaching fresh same to the dustchamber F, and means wherebysaid dust and impurities may be conveyed to said dust-chamber F throughand outof said dust tube, with the chamber adapted to receive said dustand impurities discharged into it from said dust-passage and preventthem from reaching the fiber being fed past the beater, substantially asdescribed. 4. In a cotton-trunk, the combination of the air and fiberpassage, the screen-bottom (Z beneath the same, the partitions d d,forming with the trunk and screen-bottom chambers below the latter, thedustrpassage below said chambers running longitudinally along said trunkbeneath said screen-bottom and connected With said chambers and adaptedto receive the dust and impurities discharged therefrom, and one or morescrapers c,adapted to traverse said dust-passage and clear out the same,with mechanism for operating said scrapers, substantially as described.

her, with mechanism for operating said 35 scrapers, substantially asdescribed.

RICHARD KITSON.

\Vitnesses:

A. R. IIILDRETH, J. W. ANDERSON.

